Dmitry Livanov

Dmitry Livanov (ƒмитрий ¬икторович Ћиванов) was born February 15, 1967, in Moscow.

Education: graduated with honors from the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys, Department of Physical Chemistry, with a degree in Physics of Metals, 1990; Ph.D. in Physics and Mathematics (solid state physics), 1992; D.Sc. in Physics and Mathematics (solid state physics), 1997; law degree from Moscow State Juridical Academy, 2003

The Russian Orthodox Church has submitted a proposal to the Education Ministry that religious education should be taught for eight years in all Russian schools, state news agency Interfax reported Tuesday.

Even as Russian leaders proclaim the impossibility of isolating Russia and their own unwillingness to see it happen, Russia's movement toward self-imposed isolation is gaining momentum, despite official statements to the contrary.

The Russian government has boosted its funding of Artek, a giant Soviet-era children's holiday camp in Crimea, by 350 million rubles ($9.5 million), after the Ukraine withdrew support from the center following Moscow's annexation of the peninsula in March.

UEFA has opened disciplinary proceedings against Montenegro and Russia after Saturday's Euro 2016 qualifier in Podgorica was abandoned in the second half following crowd trouble and a scuffle among the players.

A report being prepared by Nemtsov supporters claims Moscow has started discharging soldiers from the army before sending them to Ukraine and then denying compensation in order to cover up Russia's involvement.

A zoo in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod will erect a monument to a pair of swans who died in swift succession earlier this year after one was apparently murdered by zoo visitors and its mate pined to death.

A Kremlin spokesman reminded Russia's republic of Chechnya that it is illegal for Russian regions to send weapons abroad, after the Chechen parliament threatened to supply arms to Mexico for it to fight the U.S.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has claimed that the majority of national security officials working under Kiev's former pro-Moscow administration were recruited by Russia's FSB, a news report said.

Even without the confrontation with Russia, Ukraine is nowhere near being compatible with the alliance. Its security services are riven with Russian spies and a quarter of its defense budget is stolen.